In the automobile industry, decorative wheels are commonly used instead of standard wheels. Decorative wheels often differ from original equipment manufacturers' wheels, and thus, many decorative wheels do not fit on the lugs of the wheel drum of the manufacturer. Rather than car dealers stocking numerous types of decorative wheels to fit on each type of wheel drum, various wheel adapters have been developed.
Devices directed to wheel adapter systems to permit the fitting of wheels of various bolt patterns and diameters from different vehicle manufacturers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,570,559; 2,779,630; 2,970,008; 3,361,482; 3,759,576; 3,820,851; 3,834,766; 4,135,765; 4,165,904; 4,585,276; 5,785,391; 6,238,009; 6,626,502; and 6,685,275. Each of these wheel-adapter combinations suffers from one or more disadvantages. Certain adapters include protruding bolts which require particular lug nuts, thus limiting the compatibility of the adapter system for different vehicles and making the mounting and removal of these adapters cumbersome and time-consuming. Other adapters fail to provide adequate stability for the wheel when attached to the wheel hub.
Accordingly, there is a need for an adapter system for use with decorative wheels with a multitude of bolts that is usable with the majority of vehicles, and which offers quick and efficient assembly, stability and security.